Covid-19 hub shortlisted for Scottish award

CRUSH, a Covid-19 hub enabling the delivery of translational science in the virology field and co-funded by LifeArc and the Medical Research Council (MRC), is a finalist in the prestigious Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards.

Congratulations to fellow finalists and winners, who were announced at a virtual ceremony this week.

CRUSH – a unique facility for translation

CRUSH (Covid-19 Drug-Screening and Resistance Hub), which is based at the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR), is a fully integrated hub for pre-clinical drug screening and resistance assays for SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes Covid-19.

In 2021, we provided £2 million funding for the hub, alongside the MRC. CRUSH also collaborates closely with the University of Dundee Drug Discovery Unit.

CRUSH is a unique facility in translational research. It is already supporting and accelerating vital translation in the Covid-19 drug discovery field.

Significant progress

It has been working with partners of all sizes and has provided capabilities, expertise and equipment to validate and develop new technologies during the Covid-19 pandemic.

CRUSH currently focuses on SARS-CoV-2, but it’s well on its way to providing a stable and sustainable resource for the UK’s research communities to discover new drugs against other viruses too, that could pose a threat in the future.

LifeArc’s Business Development Manager, Kevin Buchan, said: “We are delighted CRUSH was shortlisted as a finalist for the Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards. CRUSH has made significant progress in its first year and we’re committed to supporting it in its journey to becoming a national centre for translation of life science research in this virology field.”